I think we have a pretty good idea for draw lengths of the English Longbow.

But how about other bows from the middle ages? Any ideas as to bow length and draw lengths?

Arrow lengths would help a lot here also. I guess my question is were draw lengths for composite and other ealry bows proportionately the same as with longbows? I'm thinking composite bows had a longer draw length than their bow length suggested, but this is purely a guess.

The Hungarian recurved bow has a draw length of about 80cm (~32"). Calculate in a reasonable amount of diversity though, my experience is limited.

Take a look around here to see an assortment of replica nomad bows. This seems to support my estimate.
http://www.grozerarchery.com/index_b.htm

Thaks, M. Oroszlany!

Looks like some pretty good stuff. Are these replicas accurate as far as you know?

Interesting as it seems a shorter composite has the same draw length as a longbow, give or take a few inches.

If I recall correctly his Extra III series is made in the traditional way, the other ones are made with fiberglass (there is a 5-600 EUR price difference). Detailed info here: /* link removed */ (it seems I'm unable to link to the correct page, it's there on his site, the 'bows' button from the home page should take you there)

There are several bowmakers that make these bows in Hungary, some even starting from 150EUR upwards,I linked to this particular one because the others didn't have info on draw length. The one I learned to shoot was a 65lbs variant of this: http://felszerelesek.lovasijaszat.hu/felszere...amp;lang=2

Most bowyer's can customize the draw length for you.

Horsebows should be drawn to the cheek or further, the ear is best. Assuming you are taller then 5' 6'' that's about 30 inches. There's also a very basic difference in draw style. European bows used 3 fingers while horsebows required a thumb ring. I personally feel there's a bit more grip to the thumb ring, and doing a longer draw on a high poundage bow won't dig into your fingers painfully. I shoot a traditional english longbow at 60 lbs; i find it really hard to do a full mongolian draw to my ear while utilizing the correct back muscles. There's a pretty basic range to draw length because of people's heights. People who are 6' 2'' or taller only still have about 30 inch draw lengths, a trained archer can draw to 30 inches.

I think, longer arrows allow more stability in flight. But arrow trajectory and accuracy is dependent on arrow weight and bow poundage. You can't shoot an arrow too light or too heavy, I'm sure a physicist could tell you the same. f=ma

Asian bows used bamboo arrows, while Europeans had cedar or ash. Bamboo is a little lighter so their arrows would be longer. Cedar is a bit heavier so the arrows can be shorter but achieve the same weight.

Fiberglass bows are much more lenient. You can under draw and it overdraw a little it without risk of breaking or sacrificing accuracy.

Asian bows are generally shorter, not only because they had to shoot off horses but material differences. I am sure the steppe and highlands were not very well equipped with tall yew and lemonwood trees.

Thanks for the pointers M. Oroszlany. Your suggestions sound very logical and helpful. With horsebows, I usually try a more kyudo style draw. A push from above and anchoring to my ear, but...I just can't seem to get my draw length anywhere near my ear just my cheeck.